Before the Moon Blog
Exploring the past, present, and future of space.
Category: NASA History
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When people think of the Apollo era, one name rises above the rest: Gene Kranz. As NASA’s legendary flight director, he guided America through its greatest triumphs and darkest hours—from Apollo 11’s first lunar landing to the near-disaster of Apollo 13. Recently, I had the honor of sitting down with Kranz, and what he shared…
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What does it feel like to watch a man willingly black out in the name of science? Frank Kurdziel still remembers. In the mid-1980s, Frank was a young environmental engineer at the Naval Air Development Center (NADC) in Warminster, Pennsylvania. He didn’t design rockets or pilot jets, but he was part of the backbone that…
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This post is from an informal pre-interview done with filmmaker Jason Sherman in preparation for an in person formal interview with NASA Astronaut Terry J. Hart for his upcoming film Before the Moon. When Terry Hart appears on screen, he doesn’t command attention with volume – but with clarity. Calm, precise, and humble to a…
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The Moment I Got My Boarding Pass to Space It was a quiet Monday when I clicked “Register.” No fanfare, no boarding tunnel, no NASA badge around my neck. Just a digital RSVP to witness history: the NASA SpaceX Crew-11 mission launch, happening July 31st at precisely 12:09 p.m. EDT. For most of my life,…
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On July 16, 1969, a rocket unlike any the world had seen thundered off the pad at Cape Kennedy. Four days later, two astronauts stepped into history. Fifty-six years ago this week, Apollo 11 launched humanity beyond Earth’s cradle, and nothing has been the same since. That moment—when Neil Armstrong’s boot hit the lunar dust—was…
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Would You Strap Yourself Into a Machine That Simulates Death? Imagine climbing into a steel gondola, being locked into a seat, and flung in a giant circle at 175 miles per hour—until your vision tunnels, your breath seizes, and the world darkens to black. Now imagine doing it… on purpose. This wasn’t a thrill ride.…
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What If I Told You the Space Race Started on a River? One summer afternoon in 1787, as America’s founders debated the Constitution in Philadelphia, a ragged inventor stood on the banks of the Delaware River, staring at a contraption unlike anything the world had seen. It hissed, clanked, and belched steam. Then—it moved. John…